Skiing in the Middle East!!

Spring is in the air and it’s the perfect time to head North. Together with the family, we drove up from the centre of the country and enjoyed the beautiful scenery as we travelled. After winter rainfall the fields were a luscious green, and streams were in full flow, an amazing contrast to the dry landscape we are used to seeing in the summer.
Keen to get the kids off to a happy start we headed to a boutique chocolate factory. Here we learnt about where chocolate comes from and how it is made, and we had the opportunity to make our own pralines. Messy, yummy and fun! The staff were kind and helpful and we had a fantastic time.   We also couldn’t resist the temptation of picking up some of the professionally made chocolates (just a little more presentable than what the kids had made!), for our friends back home.  As we came to the end of our chocolate workshop the snow began to fall! The kids were in heaven – they had not seen snow before. We ran outside and enjoyed the blizzard, making snow balls and a snow man, before heading to Kfar Blum which is a lovely family-friendly kibbutz hotel including inter-connecting rooms for families and plenty of space in the grounds for kids to have fun. Although this is a kibbutz, the rooms are extremely comfortable, especially the boutique rooms with their spacious country feel, and stand-alone baths.  For spring and summer they have a lovely outdoor pool which is much needed – as much as we were loving the snow it is important to remember that in summer months even the comparatively cooler North is still hot, hot, hot. Meals take place in a kibbutz style dining room and the food is really good in a family kitchen way.  Do expect the dining room to be lively and noisy and full of families though – if you are looking for a sophisticated dinner setting, this is unlikely to hit the spot.

The next morning we headed to the Hermon – Israel’s highest mountaint. At 2040 above sea level the snow was plentiful and we took the kids sledging, on an Alpine Coaster and for a ride on the chairlifts.   They absolutely loved it, and we simply couldn’t believe the white fluffy snow time fun we were having here in the Middle East! Of course there were plenty of people skiing too – snow in Israel is quite an event!  It remains a true wonder that in the winter time in Israel you can be in dry arid desert at the star of the day, drive several hours North and literally find yourself in an Alpine setting – the geographical diversity is quite simply mind blowing.  On a practical level, you can hire any equipment you need at the site and a cafe for much needed warm drinks and refreshments.  After an energetic day we were ready for a great meal that evening and headed to Marinado on the shores of the Kinneret. This restaurant is renowned for its organic Golan meat, and our meal was delicious and very welcome. An amazing meat platter was perfect for the whole family – no one went to bed hungry!

Please do be in touch with us if you’re thinking about including the North of Israel in an itinerary and would like to know how to include some snowy wonders in your trip!